Humane Law Enforcement Blog Posts

On April 3, ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Agents arrested Alex Dykes, 49, for allegedly beating his one-year-old male Shih Tzu mix, Bentley. In September, our agents visited Dykes’ Brooklyn home to investigate a complaint that a dog had been beaten and needed immediate help.

At the residence, Agents found poor Bentley in pain, and they knew something was wrong. They transported him to the ASPCA Animal Hospital for treatment. Our vets treated Bentley with oxygen immediately, ultimately concluding he had a brain hemorrhage and a fractured skull and jaw due to blunt force trauma. He is now recuperating in a foster home.

Dykes was charged with one count of aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, and one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. If convicted, he faces up to two years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.

Looking at Bentley’s sweet face, we have to wonder: Who could do this to an animal?

Last week a judge sentenced Sanchez to one to three years for animal fighting, one year for animal cruelty and one year for criminal possession of a weapon. (Sanchez will serve these sentences concurrently.)

He’s also been slapped with a ban on keeping animals for the duration of his parole. Sanchez waived his right to appeal.

We hope Sanchez’s sentence serves as a reminder to dog fighters that their crimes against innocent animals carry serious consequences.

Photos: [top] Jack and [bottom] Jill, before and after receiving treatment at the ASPCA Animal Hospital.

Can you imagine leaving your pets behind in your former home, even in the worst possible circumstances? We can’t either. And yet, after Jerome Smith, 23, was evicted from his Harlem apartment, he chose to do just that to his six-month-old puppies.

When New York City Animal Care & Control officers opened the door to Smith’s former home in September, they found Terrier mix puppies Jack and Jill, all alone and in bad shape.

The officers called ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement, and our agents brought the pups to the ASPCA Animal Hospital right away.

The ASPCA arrested Smith in December. He was charged with two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. If convicted, he faces up to two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.

Jack and Jill's story ends happily. On January 13, Jill was adopted! Jack is waiting for a forever family at the ASPCA Adoption Center, located in Manhattan. To learn more about how you can adopt Jack, please visit the ASPCA Adoption Center online.

In late October, New York City corrections officer Justin Burton, 35, brought one-year-old Pit mix Tori to NYC Animal Care & Control. Staff immediately noticed that Tori’s collar was deeply embedded in his neck, leaving an excruciating wound. They called ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement right away.

Agents took Tori to the ASPCA Animal Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Our veterinarians found Tori to be in severe pain from the wound, which was estimated to be three weeks old and caused by an embedded collar. Tori was treated with pain medication and antibiotics, and he is continuing to recover at the hospital.

As for Burton, Agents arrested him on January 5. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Watch this blog for updates on Tori. He’s getting better every day, and when he’s fully recovered, he’ll be available for adoption!

It’s hard to understand how someone could beat an animal to death with a rock, and then proudly post a video of the grisly scene online. And yet, that’s exactly what one individual did. On December 3, ASPCA Agents arrested Jordan Heuer for attacking, injuring and causing the death of an opossum in a Queens, New York, park.

After the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) received complaints about a video of the incident posted online, the organization referred the issue to the ASPCA. We opened a criminal investigation.

“This is a disturbing case of violent abuse in which the suspect went out of his way to not only inflict pain on a helpless animal victim by smashing it repeatedly on its head with a rock, but to also record and post the brutal event on the Internet,” says Stacy Wolf, Vice President and Chief Counsel of the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement and Legal Advocacy departments.

Heuer, 18, was charged with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty—under current New York law, felony animal cruelty charges can be brought only in cases involving companion animals. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

“This is precisely the sort of case that supports making the more callous acts that cause serious injury or death to wild animals into felony offenses,” Wolf notes, citing the extreme depravity of the opossum’s death.

We couldn’t agree more, and our Government Relations team is on the case. Bill Ketzer, ASPCA Senior Director of Government Relations for the Northeast, adds: “We will continue to work with legislators…to help shape laws to cover these types of especially heinous acts, regardless of whether the animal victim is a pet or a wild animal.”